A Woman's Prerogative
by Angelica1104
Summary: Spinelli and Maxie have a new woman to deal with


A Woman's Prerogative

By Angelica1104

Chapter One

Damian Spinelli tapped away on his keyboard rapidly. He had found himself descending even more into the cyberworld recently since his files had been hacked into the week before Christmas. It was a challenge to determine who had hacked into the " Ace of Cyberspace's" files. Stone Cold was also concerned that vital mob-related information had been leaked to an unknown source, so it was the Grasshopper's task to identify this " Worthy Adversary of the Internet", engage them in cyber-banter, meet them, and evaluate their motives for hacking into his files. He had to admit that the timing was beneficial also as once again Damian Spinelli had lost at love.

The week before Christmas, his "Fair Maximista" had told him that she cared about him too much to ever be in a real love relationship with him. She would always be his friend and she didn't want to lose that. Damian's heart was broken, but he could not find it within himself to completely separate himself from Maxie. ( It was the way he thought of her in his mind and the deepest recesses of his heart. She was" Maximista "when he verbalized her name, but when he thought of her it was always" Maxie")

On the surface, they had made it through the holiday well. He had spent time with the Original Blonde One, the Mob Prince , and Maxie. He and Maxie had shared the holiday cheer with the children at General Hospital, and he had helped Robin calm little Emma. The holidays kept Damian busy. Stone Cold had been inconsolable after the rescue of Baby Jake, and his permanent withdrawal from the Maternal One. Damian had spent some time trying to track down the "Worthy Adversary of the Internet" through the holidays, but had been unsuccessful. He attributed it to not being at his best due to the emotional hurt he was experiencing and vowed to devote all his time to identifying and flushing out this threat.

It appeared that he was almost there. Damian had been on line straight for the last 20 hours and had finally traced the " Adversary" ,and had cajoled them into a chat room! Stone Cold had provided him with Barbeque chips and orange soda as requested, but he hadn't eaten anything of substance or slept more that a few hours the past few days. Damian knew he looked like hell, his fingers ached and his legs cramped due to the inactivity, but his brain was alive! For the first time in almost a month, he had been able to put the pain and disappointment about Maxie into a compartment inside him and he was operating once more as ' the Jackal".

The past 3 hours, Maxie had rung his cell phone about every fifteen minutes , and an hour ago he had finally turned his cell off completely. He didn't need the distraction that she would create as he knew that if Maxie needed something, he would, true to form, drop everything and run to her aid.

The "Worthy Adversary" typed, ":So, you finally found me! I was almost ready to give up on you, Jackal. I found you first, know who you are ,and bested you at your game!"

Spinelli typed, " I was baiting you. Letting you think you had won allowed you to be trapped in my cyber-web!"

"We finally meet…I have admired your skills from afar. Although I am closer than you think!"

"Are you baiting me again? For all I know you could be anywhere in the world!"

"But you know I am in Port Charles, don't you?"

"I know that you are near. I have dubbed you the " Worthy Adversary of the Internet"."

" I am the " Goddess of Cyberspace" How sexist of you to think that only a man could best you at your own game, Jackal.!"

"A Goddess?? I doubt that . Perhaps we should meet so that you can prove that statement. The coffee shop perhaps in an hour if you are so near??"

I have been waiting for the invitation, Jackal! I know the coffee shop. You will know me as I will be the one online and waiting for you!

From the fringes of his consciousness, Spinelli heard an incessant pounding at the door. It didn't stop and then he heard Maxies voice, " Spinelli! Answer this door! I need you dammit, and I know you're in there!"

Spinelli knew that he would have to answer the door, so he got up and opened the door.  
Maxie almost fell as the door opened, She was just about to pound even harder.

" What the hell is going on Spinelli? I called you like 10 times and you didn't answer the phone! Then you had to turn it off! Robin and Patrick need us to babysit Emma so they can go out to a movie and we're almost late. Get dressed and cleaned up. You look like hell!"

Damian replied, "Maximista, as much as I love spending time with you and the fair Babe, I cannot assist you this time, The Jackal has important business to complete for Stone Cold! I have located the " Worthy Adversary of the Internet" who has dubbed herself the " Goddess of Cyberspace" and we are to meet in one hour at the coffee shop!!

Maxie Jones slowed for a moment. Although Spinelli looked like hell, she saw that his face was flushed and he was excited ! It took another moment for it to sink in that he had turned her down, HER, his BFF in all the world. It took another moment for the name" Goddess of Cyberspace" to sink in. All this cloak and dagger bull that Spinelli had been going on and on about since his files had been hacked into a few weeks ago was a WOMAN!!!+

By Angelica1104 A Woman's Prerogative

Chapter 2

"Come on. LuLu, answer the phone!", screamed Maxie into her cell phone as she was driving away from the penthouse. Once again, she got LuLu's voicemail and this time she decided to leave a message. " LuLu, it's Maxie and you owe me! Get over to Robin and Patricks as soon as you get this! It's an emergency!!"

Maxie knew that trying to find a replacement babysitter for Emma wouldn't strictly qualify as an emergency, but she had to get someone to fill in, and LuLu owed her. She went over her last few minutes in the penthouse before she bolted out the door after Spinelli went upstairs to get a shower for his meeting with " The Goddess of Cyberspace".

She had taken a few seconds to respond when Spinelli told her about " this woman" who had been hacking into his files for the past few weeks. He actually asked her if she was well! He said that she had lost the color out of her face and he was concerned about her.  
Maxie remembered virtually screaming back at him, " I'm fine!" She offered to go with him to meet this " stalker" but Spinelli refused…the second time he refused her in one day!! Then he had the nerve to say that he was looking forward to meeting with his worthy adversary at the coffee shop and that she had been correct in advising that he needed tomake himself presentable for their first meeting.. Just like that he left her standing in the living room ,by herself no less, while he went upstairs to get a shower.

" I don't like this one bit" , Maxie said to no one in particular. She shut off the radio in the car and went back into her mind to the penthouse. After Spinelli went upstairs, she was going to leave when she caught the glow of Spinelli's laptop out of the corner of her eye.. He had forgotten to close it in his hurry to get ready. She thought about 2 seconds about respecting Spinelli's privacy and then pushed that idea aside. After all, he was her best friend and she was just protecting him.

What greeted her on the laptop was the chat room discussion Spinelli and " this person" were having. She could not believe how blatant this person was in flirting with Spinelli.!! Why, she was cyber- flirting with her BFF!! It made Maxie sick at her stomach, which come to think of it surprised her a little, because she was pretty liberal when it came to sex and this stuff was pretty tame…It was Spinelli, though, and for some reason she didn't want him to meet this stalker without her present. Then she heard the thing that forced her out the door of the penthouse like a bat out of hell! Spinelli, with his beautiful voice singing in the shower!! Singing " Let It Snow:" in the shower…he sounded happy!

"Robin will be really pissed if I back out on her for babysitting! LuLu, where the hell are you? Get out of bed and answer your phone, you witch! Spinelli needs help and you owe me!" She put her foot to the gas pedal and headed quickly to Patrick and Robins…

Chapter 3

Winifred Dawson studied her face in the mirror of the hotel bathroom at the Metrocourt.  
Her palms were sweating and she figured that was a good sign. She had been in Port Charles now for a few weeks at the request of the Feds. Her assignment was to investigate one Damian Spinelli who was rumored to be the cyber brains behind the Jason Morgan crime syndicate.

Freddie laughed as she thought about how she ended up here. This was her first true assignment with the FBI and she probably never should have been here in the first place. She had spent fours years at NYU studying literature and her true love was Shakespeare. Freddie never quite fit in at high school or at NYU. She was a little shy and found she was able to express herself better online. She had a natural affinity for the computer world. Freddie loved playing Dungeons and Dragons and actually had posed as a male online for many years.

Her parents, Miriam and Robert Dawson were NYU professors, and last year they had died in a tragic car crash while on vacation in the Berkshires. Freddie, as an only child, was well taken care of , but she lost interest in continuing her studies for her Masters in Fine Arts, and had taken a position in Cyber-Security with the NYPD. This allowed her to focus on her affinity for writing as well as pay the bills .

Freddie had always been interested in the workings of Mob Syndicates and Port Charles was well-known nationwide as the hub of such activities. After a year with the NYPD, her supervisor suggested that she consider applying for work with the Feds. She thought she may be able to kill two birds with one stone working for the FBI. She could continue to do Cyber- Security and continue research for her novel on the inner workings of a mob syndicate.

Damian Spinelli….he sure didn't fit the MO of a mob operative. In the last few weeks, she had been watching him operate around the city. He was handsome in a kind of computer geek way…and he had the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen! From what she could gather, he was highly intelligent but not quite comfortable in social situations. ( Just like her!) He spoke in prose, addressed most in his life in the third person including himself, loved literature, and was generally thought of by most of the women in PC as a "sweetheart".He wore large oversized casual clothes most of the time, so Winnie couldn't assess his body much, but something told her that underneath all that was a thin, wiry frame.

She had also noted that he spent the majority of his time with either Jason Morgan, reputed Mob Boss or Maxie Jones, the Police Commissioner's daughter. Maxie Jones was the surprise as it appeared that she led Damian around on a leash most of the time. Winnie hated women like that! Even worse was that her main goal was to get Damian Spinelli off that leash anyway she could.

Winifred Dawson had her work cut out for her. She also reminded herself as she walked out the door that " This is a job"

A Woman's Prerogative  
By Angelica 1104

Chapter 4

Damian Spinelli was pacing around the streets surrounding the coffee shop. Surprisingly he was 10 minutes early for his meeting with the Cyber Goddess and he wanted to be at least 5 minutes late to give his adversary time to believe he was not quite so anxious to meet her as he was. It was always best to keep your prey off kilter a bit. He had been so distracted lately that he needed to focus to be at his level best when meeting her.

He took the extra moments to reflect on his favorite subject, his Fair Maximista. Damian knew that he had to do something about her soon! He was surprised that she had not waited for him while he was showering in preparation for his meeting and to be honest he was concerned at how pale she rapidly became when he told her about meeting the Cyber Goddess. He really needed to start sparing her the more potentially dangerous details of his life. She worried about him so much.

Damian admitted to himself that the concern was mutual. The friendship he and Maxie had was becoming mutually dependent. It was understandable after they both suffered the loss of Wise Georgie, but that had been over a year ago. He accepted that he would always love Maxie, heart and soul, but his friendship was holding her back. She had always been a vital, sexual woman and for the past year , she had not been with anyone but him. That one beautiful time last summer was all there would ever be between them.  
He took a moment to reflect on how Maxie had said, " I need you, Spinelli." It was time to set Fair Maximista free!

Damian realized that in order for Maxie to move on and find happiness with someone else, he must let her go. The complication was that he knew Maxie so well. She would not let go until she knew that he had moved on. Damian realized what that meant. He had to begin dating other women. It would be a shallow, loveless exercise in futility for him and Damian knew that he would never feel the depths of emotion for any other woman.

Caught in his thoughts he nearly tripped on a patch of ice on the sidewalk which made Damian realize that he was now 10 minutes late for his meeting! He hurried to the coffee shop.

The Jackal entered the coffee shop and looked around. It was a little after 4 in the afternoon and the shop was nearly empty. There were only 2 others in the coffee shop; both women and both were online. He cleared his throat…one woman looked up over her glasses, looked down at her watch, smiled, and winked!!!

A Woman's Prerogative  
By Angelica1104

Chapter 5

Maxie Jones pounded loudly on Robin and Patrick's door! She had broken land speed records to get there , and it was already ten minutes to 4! She was out of breath, her hair was a wreck from running her hands through it while she drove, and LuLu still hadn't called her back!

" Robin, it's Maxie!!"

" Hold it Maxie, I'm on my way!" I'm just finishing changing Emma"

The door to the apartment opened and Maxie practically fell in the door. Robin was holding Emma and she was surprisingly quiet for a change. ( Maxie had to admit that she never realized how loud babies were!)

" Listen,Robin, I know you're supposed to meet Patrick to take in a matinee but…"

"What's up with you Maxie? Sit down, you're all out of breath! Where's Spinelli? I was sure he wouldn't pass up an opportunity to babysit Emma!"

" It's an emergency, a Spinelli emergency, Robin! He's in trouble and he needs me and I tried to get damn LuLu to fill in for me , but now I have to backout of babysitting. I suppose I could put Emma in one of those snowsuit things and take her with me but I don't have a carseat and it's cold and snowy out and I'm not that great of a driver and…"

"Slow down, Maxie! What kind of trouble is Spinelli into? And you're right, you're not taking Emma anywhere with you in your condition and certainly not into the kind of trouble only Spinelli can get into with Jason!"

It's not Jason, it's the Goddess of Cyberspace!"

Just then another urgent knock occurred at Robin's door.

"Maxie, are you in there?? What's the emergency?"  
Robin and Maxie stopped the confusing dialogue long enough to hear LuLu calling at the door.

Robin got up quickly to answer the door and there stood LuLu Spencer looking almost as frazzled as Maxie.

Maxie jumped up from the sofa yelling, " It's about time LuLu! Where the hell have you been? Robin needs you to babysit Emma and you owe me big time for getting you out of trouble with Kate over that dress!"  
LuLu responded, "Why can't you babysit Emma? Johnny and I have plans."

"Plans, you have PLANS!! Your plans are to watch Emma tonight, Spinelli is in all kinds of trouble and I am wasting time here when I need to be at the coffee shop like RIGHT THIS MINUTE!"

Robin replied, " Quiet, both of you. Emma is asleep and listening to you two go at each other could scar her for life! LuLu, you sit down , and Maxie, explain what kind of trouble Spinelli is in. Should I call Uncle Mac?"

" No, you should not call Uncle Mac, Robin. This is not police business and all he needs is to hear that Spinelli is in more trouble. He will go all protective Daddy on me and I don't have time to deal with him now."

" Okay, someone hacked into Spinelli's computer files the week before Christmas. He's been practically obsessed with finding out who it is …Jason is all into him about possibly leaking all his important mob secrets or something."

" So when you called today to have us babysit, I called Spinelli and left him like 15 messages then he turned his phone off. I went over there and told him to get ready to babysit and he refused me! He had found the "Goddess of Cyberspace" and at this very minute he's meeting her at the coffee shop!! I have to get over there!"

LuLu snickered, "The Goddess of Cyberspace" That's your emergency Maxie? This is just some girl who was smart enough to get into Spinelli's files. You do realize there are girls out there who like that kind of thing, don't you Maxie? Maybe she wants to get into more than Spinelli's files."

" Don't you see, LuLu ? This is Spinelli we're talking about here! After he went upstairs to get ready to meet her, I read the chat room conversation they were having before I arrived and I am sure this person is a cyber-stalker! She was all over Spinelli in that chatroom! It almost embarrassed me!"

" Oh, so Spinelli's meeting a woman at the coffee shop?" enquired Robin.

"It's not a woman, Robin, it's a stalker…a cyber-stalker! Maybe she's part of the Russian mob or maybe she's just some psychopath…she could be packing heat!"

LuLu laughed, " Packing heat? It sounds to me like Spinelli has a date! I have told you for a long time to leave him alone and it looks like he finally got a clue!"

Maxie got up quickly, " Robin, I have to go. I will not stay here and listen to this from LuLu of all people…I hope you and Patrick forgive me for bailing on you , but I have to get to the coffee shop! And for your information LuLu, this is NOT a date, and I would think you of all people would be concerned about a friend like Spinelli! He brought you books and helped you escape from the loony bin! Some friend you are!"

A Woman's Prerogative  
By Angelica1104

Chapter 6

The Jackal was somewhat taken aback by the wink he had just received from the "Goddess of Cyberspace", but decided that this was a way to take control of the meeting. He had to remain in control of this to set the stage for future interaction. The Jackal tipped his beanie to the "Cyber Goddess" and winked back.

He walked slowly to the table , stood before her visage, and said, "It is I, the Jackal…And therefore you must be my worthy adversary , "The Goddess of Cyberspace." My utmost apologies for being a tad late."

She replied, " It is a pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh, Jackal! Please have a seat and join me, It is not unlike me to lose track of time when I have my trusty computer with me! I didn't know you were late!"

Spinelli was lulled by the tone of her voice. She was quite soft-spoken and her voice had a gravelly tone to it. Quite different from Maximista's voice.. As a matter of fact he had to lean toward her to fully hear her.

" Damian Spinelli, Ace of Cyberspace" at your service. I trust you had no difficulty finding the coffee shop?"

" No, Damian, I had no trouble at all! My name is Winifred Dawson , "Goddess of Cyberspace." She smiled as she tried on the moniker she had given herself on line.

He smiled back at Winnie. She stopped the discourse to study him at length. He was about 5' 9" with brown chestnut hair covered by a cute little beanie tossed off to the left side. He had on jeans that were at least a size and a half too big and a deep green shirt with a white T- shirt poking through the neckline. He, of course had his laptop slung over his back in a khaki backpack. His hair was still a little wet under the beanie, and it made her realize he had recently washed it. Up close, his eyes were even greener that she remembered.

" I see that you have an advantage already, "Cyber –Goddess. You are already online! I take it that you are hacking into some other unsuspecting persons files at this time."

"Right to the point , aren't we, Damian? And no, I am not hacking into anyone's files now. Yours haven't been accessible of late, though, now have they?"

" Fool me once, shame on you, "Goddess", Fool me twice, shame on me!"

The banter was exhilarating to Winnie! It was so refreshing to find someone who spoke her language. She was shocked and embarassed, though, when she realized that Damian Spinelli was behind her reading her laptop screen!

SONNET 18 by William Shakespeare

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?  
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:  
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,  
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:  
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,  
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;  
And every fair from fair sometime declines,  
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;  
But thy eternal summer shall not fade  
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;  
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,  
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:  
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,  
So long lives this and this gives life to thee."

"Ah, Shakespeare's Sonnet 18?? I have to admit a propensity for that one myself. So, the " Cyber-Goddess" is a fan of the Bard?", the Jackal asked.

"Round One to the Jackal", she replied. "I have studied Shakespeare for years and love this Sonnet perhaps most of all." " It appears your investigatory skills are not limited to cyberspace!" She was flustered to have been caught reading romantic prose, but decided to use it to her advantage. She looked Damian directly in his eyes. She had noticed that he avoided direct eye contact when speaking with her.

Just then, Spinelli noticed that her eyes were a deep brown, almost black, in fact and they were hooded by the longest eyelashes he had ever seen. If the eyes were the windows to the soul, he couldn't see hers. It made him uncomfortable to be sharing direct eye contact with a virtual stranger and she knew it!

He quickly rose, and said." My utmost apologies, "Goddess", I have been amiss in offering to provide you with a libation." " What would you prefer?"

She smiled at Damian then and said, " I admit to being addicted to coffee, Jackal…just make sure it's hot. I like it hot!"

A Woman's Prerogative  
By Angelica1104

Chapter 7

Maxie hurried to the coffee shop trying to correct her hair as she walked! She had forgotten her make-up and compact at home and couldn't believe it had been hours since she had touched up her make-up. She couldn't believe how off-base LuLu was but she should have known better! This was LuLu after all. There were days when she wondered what Georgie would think of her sharing an apartment with the woman who had destroyed Georgie and Dillon. She knew Georgie would understand, matter of fact, Georgie is the only one who would understand why she was so concerned about Spinelli and this "Goddess".

Maxie peered through the window of the coffee shop as stealthily as she could. She saw Spinelli at the counter with his back to her, and two women at tables at opposite sides of the shop. They were both online. It was after 4:30 and she hoped she was not too late! Maxie eyed up the women in the shop. The one on the left was mid twenties, about 50 pounds overweight with dishwater blonde hair pulled back in a bun with a scrunchie wearing sweats that looked like they were bought at the local thrift store .She had horn-rimmed glasses and was obviously wearing no make-up.

The woman on the right was freaking drop-dead gorgeous…long and I mean long dark brown or was it black naturally curly hair. She had light complexion that didn't seem to have a blemish on guessed she was also in her mid-twenties. She was thin and was wearing a tight red sweater that accentuated her well-endowed breasts without being gaudy. ( Maxie couldn't tell if they were real or not from this far away, but she planned on checking that out later). She had on tight black designer jeans and a pair of Jimmy Choos! Maxie thought her legs looked rather long…She also was online…This woman reeked of sensuality and Maxie decided right then and there that there was no way this woman was the " Goddess of Cyberspace"  
She was probably online shopping for clothes at Saks…

Maxie decided right then to head to the left to Broomhilda…This would be easy. She could ask the " Goddess" to politely go away and free up her BFF from an evening with this poor girl.. Perhaps she could even be nice to her. She sure didn't look like some cyber-stalker and Maxie breathed a sigh of relief. She would very nicely offer to help her choose some clothes, maybe even take her to the Crimson office and ask Federico if he could do anything about designing something in a size 16.

Maxie took adeep breath, opened the door and walked into the coffee shop. She was half way over to the table at the left when she heard Spinelli's voice from across the room..

" Maximista, what are you doing here? Did Patrick have an emergency at the hospital? I am so glad you could join us! Come here I want to introduce you to the worthy adversary I told you about, " The Goddess of Cyberspace."

Maxie turned quickly toward the sound of Spinelli's voice , and her worst nightmare had come true! Spinelli had just put down a hot cup of coffee at the table on the right!

A Woman's Prerogative  
By Angelica1104  
Chapter8

Winnie looked up at Damian and saw the look of happiness on his face at seeing his"Maximista". This was Maxie Jones, Mac Scorpio's stepdaughter, Damian Spinelli's best friend , and major thorn in her side. She didn't like the possibility of Maxie butting her nose into the relationship Winnie was trying to build with Damian Spinelli. From observations and a little research on the side, Maxie Jones was an assistant to Kate Howard at the fashion rag,"Crimson". She shared an apartment with one LuLu Spencer and the heir to the Zacchara crime family, Johnny Zacchara. She had quite a checkered past and was high-strung and emotional. Worst of all she could blow Winnie's cover; no worst of all was that she was quite taken with Damian Spinelli and she didn't want to share her time with his watchdog, Maxie Jones!

Maxie Jones walked slowly over to the table.  
She just stood there…Winnie could almost read the territoriality in Maxie's body language. She hadn't said a word yet, but she stood right behind Damian and stared Winnie straight in the eye.

"So you're the one who hacked into Spinelli's files? You know I don't know what you were trying to accomplish, but Spinelli could have gotten fired over that! Do you realize that's an invasion of privacy, not to mention it had Jason all kinds of pissed off at Spinelli.! "

Winnie stood up and realized that she was at least 3 inches taller that Maxie. She reached out her hand and tried to modulate her voice, " It is so nice to meet you , Maximista is it?"

Maxie avoided Winnie's hand , sat down beside Spinelli , and said " My name is Maxie Jones and I don't know what kind of a game you're playing here, but I can tell you it won't work with me! "

Spinelli looked first at Winnie, then at Maxie…Fair Maximista's face was flushed; The " Cyber Goddess" looked quite calm and had a suppressed grin on her face.

Winnie took Maxie's refusal of a handshake as a challenge. She walked behind Damian, looked toward Maxie, put one hand on either side of Damian's shoulders on the back of his chair and leaned in as if to look at his laptop over his shoulder.

"Why, Maxie, it is a pleasure to meet such a good friend of the Jackal's. The only game we are playing right now is "getting to know you." We hadn't even really discussed who was the better hacker. Actually right before you arrived, we were discussing our common affinity for Shakespeare's Sonnet 18… Other than that the only thing Damian knows about me thus far is that I like my coffee like I like my men …hot!"

By Angelica1104

Chapter 9

They were real! Those breasts were real! And right now she was practically resting them onSpinellis head!!!

Maxie Jones looked down at Spinelli's hands that were nervously tapping away on his laptop keys. His hands looked somewhat tremulous and Maxie heard Spinelli and The Godless talking but the words weren't registering in her mind. Maxie's eyes were focused on Spinelli's tremulous hands, and her mind went back to another time when she had seen his hands so shaky…

She had been so scared! Anthony Zacchara had just released her from a shakedown over Logans murder! She had lied to him and she was afraid for her life. She went straight to Spinelli for comfort! It struck her now that for over a year she had always gone to him when the chips were down and she was afraid. .It wasn't like she didn't have Robin or Sam, but it was just her first thought to go right to Spinelli!

After a few hugs and his reassurance that he would protect her, they had looked at one another and kissed! Maxie remembered how soft his lips were, and how his hands were shaky when he drew her cautiously into his embrace. She could feel his breath in her mouth as she was sure she had surprised him .Maxie recalled that when his mouth opened, she had slipped her tongue in and met his tongue gently. It was when he reciprocated by sliding his tongue over hers that she knew she was done! His tongue was soft and he caressed her tongue and ran his over her lips gently.

After that Maxie had pulled away and said ," I need you, Spinelli!"  
From that moment on, she took over . She had taken his shirt off, ripped his belt off .She remembered once again his tremulous hands as he had tried to undo her shirt. She recalled leaning back and undoing her blouse. At the time Maxie realized that Spinelli was nervous, but she really wasn't thinking clearly ! In retrospect, she realized that those tremulous hand belied more than anxiety; they were a clear sign of arousal!

She recalled things moving very quickly on the sofa…pressing full length against him, feeling his hands run up and down her spine…she remembered moans of pleasure. For the first time she allowed herself to be back in those moments. The moans of pleasure came from not just Spinelli, but from deep within Maxie Jones!

She had tried for so long to not remember that time because she was afraid that she had taken advantage of Spinelli! She couldn't lose him! She was petrified that she had destroyed their friendship.  
Now though in the cold confines of the coffee shop with some other woman touching Spinelli and seeing his tremulous hands, Maxie remembered a key moment of that night!

Maxie remembered Spinelli's tremulous hands turning her over on that sofa, right before they reached the pinnacle of their lovemaking! She recalled his soft voice saying, " I need you, too, Maxie!" He had taken over what she had started and it was all with those tremulous hands!

"Maximista…Maximista…are you well! The Goddess and I were just discussing a walk to the video store to buy the new "Gods of War" game! Would you like to accompany us?"

Chapter 10

Spinelli was confused and concerned! While he and the Cyber Goddess were talking about how she had always been lost in the internet, he kept a close eye on Maxie. She said literally nothing…it was like she wasn't even there. He had an inkling that Maxie had come to the coffee house to check up on him. That worried Spinelli, as,  
although the Cyber Goddess seemed to be on the up and up, he wasn't sure if she was possibly in cahoots with the Nefarious Ones.

He and Winnie had browsed some websites of up and coming video games that they might be interested in. She was a huge fan of Dungeons and Dragons, and had challenged him to a game. Spinelli thought it would be better to assess her true videogaming skills by having them try a totally new game. He knew that "Gods of War" had come out around Christmas and he hadn't had time to purchase it and try it. He postulated that if he and the Cyber Goddess played one another, he could determine her skill level and whether or not it was truly her who had hacked into his files.

Spinelli knew that she was playing him to a certain extent. She had invaded his personal space at least twice in their brief discourse…it was as if she knew that made him uncomfortable. The Goddess was well-endowed, ,and at one point he thought he felt her bosoms touch the top of his head! She was trying to unnerve the Jackal, and it was working.

It had been such a long time since he had been intimate with his Fair Maximista, and Winnie was attractive. What upset him the most was the proximity of his treasured Maxie while the Cyber Goddess was using her feminine wiles to seduce him to gain an advantage! The Jackal had to use all his willpower not to engage in another Jackal PI fantasy starring both Maxie and the Cyber Goddess…he would save that until later when it was safe to let his mind go there.

She was an interesting specimen, if one could believe her story. He doubted that she could have made up her history at NYU, her parents fatal car crash, and her lack of interest in pursuing her studies due to grief. She had reportedly been well taken care of financially after the death of her parents and had been drifting along in the cyberworld since then.  
She was a worthy adversary and she knew that all of the information she was providing him would be verified as soon as he was alone.

Spinelli was enjoying their banter , and really wanted to change their environs to move his investigation along. He knew that she also had an Achilles heel of sorts that he had discovered unintentionally. Winifred was a Romantic at heart…she loved Sonnet 18. She had revealed herself to the Jackal, and wanted him to believe that she had come to Port Charles out of her interest in him and his skills…This was a weakness that the Jackal could exploit….But first, he had to ensure that his Fair Maximista was out of the line of fire. She sorely distracted him!

Maxie lifted her head from what appeared to be a fog and replied in a strained voice," No Spinelli, you go ahead and get your video game. I just stopped here quickly to grab Kate a latte! She called me on my cell on my way to Robins with a deadline emergency at Crimson! I had to bail on babysitting Emma! I better get a move on because you know how Kate is!!"

Spinelli and Winnie grabbed their laptops quickly and made their way to the door…just as they were leaving, they bumped into Robin and Patrick sans Emma on their way into the coffee shop!

Chapter 11

Robin and Patrick exchanged brief hellos and introductions with Spinelli and Winnie on their way out of the coffee shop. Robin couldn't help thinking what an interesting contrast Winnie and Maxie were. She was as dark as Maxie was fair. Her hair was curly where Maxie's was straight. She was as soft spoken as Maxie was animated. Robin was concerned about Maxie; she really hadn't looked good today. After Robin had sent LuLu packing, Matt and Liz dropped by with Cam and Jake and they were going to watch Emma.

Patrick hadn't been too pleased when she told him that their first married date was going to begin by checking on Maxie, and yes…there she was! Sitting at a table alone except for two empty coffee cups and a half empty glass of orange soda.

Patrick looked at Robin as they neared Maxies table."Wow, I didn't know Spinelli had it in him! The last time I tried to give him pickup hints, he ended up hitting on a lesbian! Looks like he's doing just fine on his own.I never knew techhie women looked like Winnie!"

Robin quickly gave Patrick a rib jab, but obviously she was too late! Maxie turned around as they approached.

" Oh, that's rich, Patrick! You know I have put up with you for Robin's sake and now Emma's and your wedding was beautiful, but you are still a total man-whore!"

"Come on, Maxie! I'm just giving the guy some props. Is Winnie a friend of yours I never met? Did you set them up?"

"No Patrick I did NOT set them up. I would never set Spinelli up with anyone……(Maxie stopped herself)…with anyone like her! She is the scum-sucking viper who hacked into Spinelli's files and almost got him fired!"  
"What are you two doing here anyway? Don't tell me you actually let LuLu watch Emma, Robin!"

"Matt and Liz came over with the boys, Maxie, and they are watching Emma. I sent LuLu off for her plans with Johnny," replied Robin.  
"We just wanted to check on you, Maxie, you looked so pale today I thought you were sick. Are you taking your heart meds?"

"How stupid do you think I am? Of course I am taking my meds. I just had a hectic day. I worked straight through lunch so I could get over to babysit in time for you! I'm just tired, and anyway that's beside the point…What did you find out about the Cyber Goddess? I saw you talking to them over there."  
"Well, Spinelli introduced us to her as Dr. and Mrs. Love... how cute, huh? I guess they were going to head to the video store after they stopped at the Metrocourt to pick up Winnie's car."

"She's staying at the Metrocourt? Thanks, Robin! You guys go enjoy your first married date! I have to get going…Oh and Patrick, for your information, I hope Emma spits up on you the next time you burp her!"

With that retort and for the second time that day, Maxie Jones left her cousin Robin just sitting there while she ran for the door!

Chapter 11

Spinelli and Winnie entered the Metrocourt with their new "Gods of War" game in hand. Spinelli had been trying to figure out a way to keep the Cyber Goddess out of Stone cold's penthouse. She assumed that they would be "going back to his place" to play…the game. They both were sopping wet and Winnie had lost one glove. Spinelli's beanie was gone, too!

A soft snow had been falling on their trip to the Metrocourt. The Cyber Goddess mentioned how the snow always either melted quickly or got dirty on the streets of Manhattan. She really appeared charmed by the snow! They were walking along through the park and Spinelli started thinking about Maxie. She always seemed to him to be one with the elements… Maximista was a woman for all seasons!

Just as he was about to become lost in his thoughts, Spinelli felt a cold slam across his face! It took him off guard and he thought for a moment that he and the Cyber Goddess were being attacked. Then he heard her laughing!

The Cyber Goddess was laying at his feet…her left hand held a huge snowball and the right hand was empty, but snow was dripping off her leather gloves.

"Come on Damian, let's not waste this! Let's make a few snow angels!"

She appeared to be totally caught up in the moment. Spinelli knew that she was trying to perpetuate her contention that she was interested in him. At the video store she had told him about surfing the web the past year "looking for something". She had happened upon him when she encountered him in a game of Dungeons and Dragons. The Cyber Goddess reported that she had actually won a game against him, but she told him she had been on line as a male.

Winnie had admitted to have found him after quite a bit of time. She knew that he worked for Stone Cold's "Coffee Import Business". She told him that she hoped to find a kindred spirit in the Jackal, and had actually asked if the Master was in need of further tech support.

The second snowball hit him square in the jaw! "You shall be vanquished for that one, Goddess! Spinelli carefully placed his backpack aside, picked up a handful of snow and tossed it at her as hard as he could!

Before he knew it, a snow battle royal was taking place between the Jackal and the Cyber Goddess.! They were chasing each other with handfuls of snow, laughing, mocking one another, and then…curse of all curses; the Jackal lost his footing and fell directly on top of Winnie.

They were out of breath, and he was most embarrassed!

Winnie said, "Well, Jackal does this mean you won, or did I?? She threw off her gloves, grabbed his face between both of her hands and said very quietly, "Well, maybe we both did!" She then brought her lips to his in an icy kiss!

They didn't hear the rustle from the hedges behind them, or they would have seen Maxie Jones make her third hasty exit of the day!!!

Chapter 12

Fifteen minutes before Spinelli and Winnie arrived at the Metrocourt, Maxie Jones arrived and very quickly tracked down Carly Jax!

"Carly, what do you know about Winifred Dawson? I know she's staying here and I need to know everything you can about her!"

Carly laughed, " Maxie, you know it would be unethical for me to tell you anything about one of my guests! What did she do to you anyway? Get in front of you in the line to kiss Connie Falconeri's ass?"

"For your information Carly I don't kiss Kate's ass; I work there which is more that I can say for your cousin LuLu! I pulled her ass out of the fire and saved her job when she gave you the information about the dress Kate was going to wear to the cocktail party and you know it…And furthermore, Carly it's a little late for EITHER of us to start worrying about ethics now."

"Then give me one good reason why I should tell you anything about Winifred Dawson? Why should I help you out, Maxie?"

" You won't be helping me out, you'll be helping Jason!"

"Jason, what does he have to do with Winifred Dawson? Don't tell me he's hitting that? I've seen her and she is a hot one!"

"Back down, Carly, I don't think Jason even knows who she is yet. It's Spinelli that she's after?"

"Spinelli?? Then why should I care? That guy could use a little break from you Maxie!"

" Listen, I don't have time to argue with you. She's the one who has been hacking into Spinellis files since right before Christmas! Jason has been all over Spinelli to find out who is doing this because all his mob secrets are at risk. Well, it seems as though she found Spinelli and right at this minute they are playing " tonsil-hockey" in the park. They are SUPPOSED to be coming over here to get her car to play some stupid videogame. I imagine she wants to get into the penthouse!"

"She's been here for over two weeks…pays in cash a week in advance…she's up to something!"

"FINALLY…someone sees it! There's more to this chick that her Jimmy Choos and big rack, Carly!! She's dangerous!"

"Listen, I will get you into a housekeeping uniform and give you a master key! You get in that room and don't leave until you've checked every inch of it, Maxie!!

Chapter 13

Maxie Jones used the master key to furtively enter room 304 at the Metrocourt. If it weren't for the orthopedic shoes she could have imagined doing a little " French Maid" fantasy with the feather duster! She wondered if Spinelli was allergic to feathers!

Downstairs in the lobby, Carly Jax saw Spinelli enter shortly thereafter with Winifred Dawson . They both were soaking wet, covered with melting snow, and their faces were flushed as the warm air hit them. Carly knew that this was some major trouble because she saw them head for the elevators! It looked like they were going upstairs instead of to the garage to pick up Winnie's car! In her haste to help Spinelli, Maxie had left her cell phone at the front desk and there was no way for Carly to warn her!

Carly hightailed it to the elevator doors saying, " Hey, Spinelli! I haven't seen you since Christmas!"

Spinelli looked around and saw the Valkyrie headed right toward him and Winnie…this was not going to go well! The Valkyrie had a way of obtaining information out of the Jackal better than the most dogged detective. He didn't want her to know that he was investigating the Cyber Goddess for a possible security breach ! She would insist on joining the investigatory team and this would not sit well with Stone Cold!

"Valkyrie, it is always the Jackals pleasure to see you! You have met Miss Winifred Dawson, I presume?"

"Not officially, Spinelli, but it looks like you have!"

"Yes, Valkyrie, Miss Dawson is the worthy adversary of the Jackal…she is a Cyber Goddess, indeed!"

"Damian, I am getting cold! I really need to dry off in my room!" Winnie needed to get Damian to her room. She was aware of Carly Jax's friendship with Jason Morgan and her past marriages to Sonny Corinthos. It was one of the reasons she chose the Metrocourt, however she had heard about the dangerous tenacity of one Carly Jax. Apparently at a Crimson cocktail party near the beginning of December,Mrs. Jax had totally embarrassed Kate Howard by showing up in the exact same dress she wore. This was not a woman Winnie needed to cross just yet and it appeared that Damian was content to just stand there and drip on the lobby floor exchanging pleasantries with her!

Winnie started to chatter her teeth…" Damian , I am really cold and my legs feel so stiff! Can you help me up to the room to dry off? "

Always the gentleman, Spinelli agreed, Winnie pushed the button for the third floor, and Carly watched in horror and prayed that Maxie was going to be able to come up with a viable excuse this time!

Meanwhile, back in room 304, Maxie had checked through Winnie's desk for possible leads. She also went through the closet and checked the pockets of Winnies clothes, Maxie had to admit that this was sort of fun and that even though Winnie had fair taste in clothes, she was no Fashionista. Maxie had to find something!!! Right about now, Spinelli and Winnie were probably at the penthouse and Maxie couldn't even let herself think about what might be going on there!!

She really couldn't control herself…Maxie quietly opened the top drawer of the dresser and there they were! Winnie's lingerie. It kind of pissed Maxie off that they all seemed to match, lacy little nothings like she wore…a veritable Victorias Secret Fashion Show in there! Maxie couldn't resist picking up the red lace Very Sexy Demi on the top. She searched for the tag in the back of the bra….Damn just like she thought…34D! Then Maxie hit paydirt! At the right hand corner of the lingerie drawer was a badge! Maxie picked it up and read the identifying information...Winifred Dawson was a FED!!!

Right as she grabbed the badge, Maxie heard Spinelli's voice in the hall…"How can I assist you Cyber Goddess? Your lips are shaking."

" My legs are shaking too, Damian!"

"Can you continue on your own? Allow the Jackal to assist you!"

Maxie closed the lingerie door, looked around for a place to hide, and fairly dove under the king size bed just in time to see one pair of boots enter the room, They were Spinelli's …he was carrying that viper over the threshold!!

Chapter 14 or 15 ( I've lost track, sorry!)

Winnie was not quite as light in his arms as his Fair Maximista when he carried her lifeless body from the stairs the night the Russian rogues had attacked her sweet being. He attributed that to her increased height and the fact that she was soaking wet!

The kiss had been a severe disruption of his " personal bubble", but he did wonder at how different Winnie's kiss was from Maxie's. Spinelli had to stop getting lost in thought at those critical moments, because his wool-gathering had made the kiss last even longer. He attributed the fact that he permitted tongue to be involved in the kiss to the fact that he was, in fact , thinking about Maxie.

Spinelli was beginning to believe that the Cyber Goddess was, indeed, interested in the Jackal himself despite what other nefarious agenda she was hiding. That unnerved him even more…although he had made a resolution to free his Fair Maximista by "moving on".

He laid Winnie down gently on the bed and said, " Really, Goddess, the Jackal fears for your health! You must get out of those wet clothes soon or you will catch your death!"

"How kind of you, Damian! Look at you! You cannot go home wet like that; your lips are turning blue."

She rose from the bed and walked to the closet." Fortunately , I have some sloppy old NYU sweats you can put on until your clothes dry. Go in the bathroom, feel free to take a nice hot shower if you like and put these on."

" I cannot impose, Goddess! You need to dry off as well."

" It's no problem I assure you, I'll change out here if you will just throw me one of those big bath towels out on your way in. I'll call the valet to dry your clothes and we can have room service send us up some hot soup. You know it's past eight and neither of us have eaten."

Spinelli saw no way out. It was cold, the sweats looked like they would be a close enough fit, and he did not relish another trip to General Hospital with pneumonia! He grabbed a towel, tossed it to the Goddess, took the sweats and went into the bathroom. Spinelli thought about locking the door behind him but didn't think he could do it without being obvious,so he abandoned that idea.

Winifred Dawson sighed…she really hadn't planned to kiss Damian Spinelli after their snowball fight but he was just so irresistible! He was a fierce competitor and she loved that, plus he had not lost the joyfulness of play! It was not something she had expected out of a cyber geek like him. When he fell on her full force, she had a little of the wind knocked out of her. She looked up and saw that his beanie was gone and his overly- long chestnut hair was hanging into his eyes. Damn those eyes! They were full of merriment and so green and clear that she felt she could see straight through to his heart.

Winnie knew she was done when she felt him try to get off of her and was able to feel the full length of his rangy body against hers. The jeans did him no justice at all. That's when she grabbed his face, looked him straight in the eyes and kissed him!

At first he stiffened and then she felt him relax a little. She deepened the kiss with her tongue and felt Damian respond.

Oh, she was in trouble!! Rule #1 – don't get involved with the suspect!

Winnie heard the shower turn on and decided she better hurry…she quickly stripped off her wet clothes and underthings and let them pool at her feet beside the bed. She dried her body and as much of her unruly black hair as she could, grabbed one of the house fluffy white robes, and almost as an afterthought opened her lingerie drawer and reached for her red lace bra and panties. She was in such a hurry to complete " getting decent" that she dropped the bra on the floor and had to bend over to retrieve it.

On the floor under the bed, Maxie Jones was seething! She almost grabbed that bra when it landed on the floor and she could make out the edge of the white robe! Spinelli was in her freaking shower even as Maxie struggled to keep from sneezing due to the dust bunnies under the bed! She had visions of Spinelli picking up Winnies loofah and running it over his body!

Maxie held onto the badge in her right hand so hard that she was sure she was almost drawing blood! This beootch was going down!!

Chapter 15

Carly Jax sat at her desk at her office at the Metrocourt. It had been ten minutes since Spinelli and Winifred Dawson had gone up to room 304. Room service had just had an order for soup, coffee and orange soda to that room.

Where the hell is Maxie? The only thing Carly could figure was that the orange soda was for Spinelli and either Maxie or Winifred were tied up somewhere or pushed down a stairwell by now. Carly had seen how Winifred had been eyeing up Spinelli and she was hell bent to get him up to her room! Carly knew how Maxie felt about Spinelli even if she didn't. Carly had once felt that way about Jason, but too much time and too much water under the bridge had destroyed any chance they had.

Maybe she and Maxie shouldn't have tried to work this out on their own. When would she ever learn, Carly asked herself. Jason was going to kill her but she had to call him and have him get Spinelli the hell out of that room!

With a sense of dread, Carly picked up the phone and dialed Jason's number…

"What is it, Carly? Sonny's invading my shipping lanes with Zacchara shipments and Bernie and I are up to our asses trying to deal with it! Can this wait??"

"Um…Jason, it's Spinelli"

"What's going on with Spinelli Carly? The last time I saw him late this morning he was working on a job I gave him. The kid hadn't slept in nearly two days! He's not in the hospital is he?"

" No, Jason, he's upstairs in one of my rooms with Maxie and another woman."

"WHAT!!"

"It seems as though Spinelli found the hacker he was looking for, or rather she found him. Apparently Maxie caught them making out in the park, and she came here all fired up because she thinks there's something shady about this woman…"

"Wait a minute, Carly, let me get this straight. Spinelli caught the hacker and didn't tell me! But he told Maxie!! And it's a woman and she and Spinelli were making out in the park? Are you sure Maxie isn't drunk or something?"

" No , Jason, this Winifred Dawson has been checked in here for over two weeks, pays a week in advance in cash, and she is drop dead gorgeous! I agreed with Maxie that this woman obviously has an agenda. I sent Maxie upstairs in a housekeeping outfit to search her room . Fifteen minutes ago, this Winifred and Spinelli came in the lobby all out of breath and soaking wet from outside ! She was hell bent on getting him up to her room as soon as she could! I'm pretty sure she plans on seducing him!

"God, Carly, why didn't you call me when Maxie showed up? Oh, forget I asked!"

"What are you going to do Jason?"

"I'm going to call Spinelli as soon as I get off with you and get him back to the penthouse on the pretense of a job. AND if he doesn't answer his phone, I'm coming over there and WE are going up to that room and get him out of there!"

Jason hung up the phone, and Carly sighed.

Chapter 16

Maxie Jones was about to burst out from under the bed and hang little Miss Goddess up by her toenails but she was able to restrain herself…for Spinelli! If he knew she was up there checking up on him, he would be mortified. And she couldn't tell him about Winnie being a Fed without implicating him in Jason's mob business. She could just hear Mac now riding Spinelli about putting her in danger. Maxie decided then and there that she would ride this one out all night if she had to!

Maxie heard the bathroom door open and she peered under the bed to see Spinelli's feet come walking out of the bathroom.

"Feel better, Jackal? Here, hand me those wet clothes. I am going to call the valet. Have a seat. I called for some chicken soup and orange soda for you from room service."

"I am most greatful for your kind hospitality, Goddess! You look quite….dry also."

It was not lost on Spinelli that Winnie had removed her wet clothing and had donned a white robe. It was quite a contrast with her black hair and dark brown eyes. If Fair Maximista was Aphrodite, the Goddess was surely Athena!

"Damian, I think we need to talk…I realize that we only met a few hours ago, but I feel as though I have finally met a kindred spirit. After that kiss we shared in the park, I think I need to share with you a little more about myself."

Maxie had to strain to hear her! Damn it woman, speak up!!

" I respect your personal space and privacy, Goddess. Do not feel the need to share anything that may prove uncomfortable to you."

"Sit next to me" Winnie patted the space beside her on the bed.

"Goddess, the Jackal is not sure…"

"It's okay, Damian, we are going to talk. I need you to know where I am coming from. You see, I am the only child of two only children. My parents were professors at NYU and they met and married late in life. They loved me and provided for me, but I grew into somewhat of a holy terror in high school and college, you know…"

" I was intelligent, loved literature and developed a world of my own on the web…I have always attracted men, primarily the jocks or bad boys. I worked my way through quite a few of them, actually, but was never really happy."

"I yearn for the kind of relationship my parents had; you see, sometimes even to the exclusion of their only child, they were soulmates. I have always been seeking the kind of man who would be the " forever" kind of guy, someone who would know me for who I really am and touch my heart."

" When I was tracking you on line, it was the thrill of the chase, but now that I have met you in the flesh and spent some time with you…well all I am asking, Damian, is whether you might be willing to get to know me better, spend time with me, and see where this could lead?"

Spinelli was floored…was she playing him? This was uncharted territory for the Jackal.

" May I ask, why would you want to be with the Jackal?"

Winnie replied, "Why not you, Damian?"

"Are you asking to be my…friend?"

"Friendship is a great foundation , Damian, but I see so much more potential for us."

"The Jackal has had many …dear friends in his life. But …the Jackal struggles. There has been more than one occasion in his life when he has loved, but it has not ended the way the Jackal had hoped."

Winnie stood up and faced Spinelli. "You just haven't met the right woman yet then, Damian. Look at me and see yourself through my eyes…you are a handsome, intelligent, sensitive, competitive, funny, loyal, and sexy man! I haven't been able to keep my hands off you since you tipped your beanie to me in the coffee shop!"

Spinelli smiled, what the Goddess said was true…she had invaded his "personal bubble" many times just this evening! Perhaps he should give this a chance; it would free up Maxie to move on with her life and the Goddess would fill those lonely hours he was dreading.

" The Jackal is most flattered by your attention, Goddess, and he would be both pleased and honored if you would accompany him on a real date tomorrow evening for dinner and a rousing game of Gods of War."

" It would be my pleasure, Damian!"

Just then, Spinelli's cell phone rang, He was a little flustered to realize that he had just arranged a date with Winnie and it took him a few moments to reach his phone.

It was Stone Cold…the Master needed his technical support immediately!

" I must bid you adieu, Fair Winifred, my Mas…boss needs me to work tonight." I look forward to seeing you tomorrow evening, say around seven?"

" Let me give you a lift home…your clothes aren't dry yet. I'll have them for you tomorrow. It's too cold to be walking in those sweats and your boots are still soaking wet"

I would be most obliged for the lift" replied Spinelli.

With that they were out the door.

Maxie Jones crawled out from beneath Winifred's bed and looked at herself in the mirror. She was dusty, bedraggled, and felt as if she had been kicked in the solar plexus. Her right hand was marked from holding so tightly onto Winnie's badge. A single tear rolled down Maxie Jones cheek….that woman had told Spinelli how special he was in two minutes when she hadn't been able to do it in over a year! He was everything she said he was and more. And now, for what seemed to Maxie like the millionth time, someone else she loved was leaving her!! Only this time she didn't think she would ever get over it!

Chapter 17

Maxie Jones was lost in thought in Room 304 at the Metrocourt. She found herself going over and over the past year with Spinelli. It was as though she was reliving the moments

How mean she was to him when he first started hanging around Georgie; this annoying nerd who she couldn't even understand when he spoke!

How shocked she was when she realized that her beautiful sister Georgie was in love with him!

It even registered to her how sad he was at Georgie's wake, as she viewed him from the pulpit of the church when she ripped into her mom.

She recalled how she and Spinelli bonded to find the Text Message Killer…she needed to clear Coop's name, and he needed to avenge Georgies death. How clueless he was when she brutally told him how Georgie had loved him! He never knew then , and he didn't know now. She took a minute to try to understand why neither she nor Georgie were able to express their feelings for Spinelli… All the capers , the times they took care of each other, the tears and laughter they shared were not something that were lost on Maxie Jones.

She had wondered at the time how she had gotten to the hospital when she was attacked by the Russian thugs. Now she knew that he had carried her all the way there! She still secretly nursed the lavender plant he gave her, and although she killed most every plant, somehow that one had thrived!

She knew she must have hurt his feelings plenty over all the homemade gifts he gave her.  
At the time, she thought the box of rocks he brought her as a housewarming gift was a gift from Tiffany's! She wondered now if Spinelli had seen her disappointment in being gived a Zen Garden. In hindsight, she realized how precious that box of rocks was and she would prefer it over any piece of crystal from Tiffanys!

The birthday gift when Emma was born was so thoughtful and sweet ,but once again she just didn't " get it" and in all the craziness of Robin and Patrick's first wedding and Robin going into labor, he was the only one who remembered! Maxie had told Spinelli that she didn't read much, but the pictures and stories in her book were his way of showing how much she meant to him! It was Spinelli's way of telling her he loved her! He had likened her to a work of art!

And how could Maxie ever forget his Christmas gift to her? He had handed her the box on Christmas Eve at the apartment after LuLu and Johnny had gone to bed. She opened it quickly remembering now that she had hoped he had finally" got it right!" In the box were two certificates and two framed photos. The pictures were of BJ and Georgie, and the certificates showed where in the sky the two stars were that he had named for them…one for" Barbara Jean" and one for" Georgie" with the notation on the certificate….."To the angels… with perpetual love and gratitude! Damian Spinelli." Maxie became tearful and she supposed that Spinelli thought that she was touched… and really she was! However, Maxie remembered wondering at the time why Spinelli hadn't had a star named after her!

Maxie should have seen it…it was reflected in how he referred to her. She went from the "Bad Blonde One" to the "Wounded Blonde One" to " Maximista" to the one she completely missed…"The Woman of My Dreams". She recalled now that he had called her that on the day she and LuLu moved into their apartment. It was the same day she faked having sex with a wall and Spinelli was hurt because she was not as noisy that one time with him. That was the day she told him for good that they could never have sex again! In hindsight, Maxie realized now how hurt Spinelli had been! She had closed the door forever!

Maxie sobbed quietly . She had told him that he had made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world that one time they were together, and that she never wanted to have to fake it with him! But she didn't tell him that it wasn't just sex…it was love! She knew it now and it was too late! Spinelli was moving on with his life and it was…just too late!

From a distance, Maxie Jones vaguely heard an incessant pounding…

" Maxie, are you in there ??", yelled Carly Jax. Then Carly used her master key to open the door to Room 304. There, standing at the dresser looking in the mirror was Maxie Jones! She was just standing there …in the rumpled housekeeping uniform Carly had lent to her. She was dusty, and she was crying!

Chapter 18

" Maxie! We have to get out of this room NOW!"

Maxie slowly turned and saw Carly Jax standing in the center of the room looking either frantic or pissed off…she couldn't really tell.

" No, I'm waiting for her to come back; I want to talk to her!"

" You are like hell, Maxie! I had to tell Jason what you were up to! You were in such an all fired hurry you forgot your cell phone and I couldn't warn you that Spinelli and Winifred were on their way up!"

Carly grabbed Maxie's arm and pulled her out the door of Room 304. Maxie started to protest loudly as only Maxie could do and Carly snarled. " Shut up , Maxie until we get to my office!!"

Carly opened the door to her office, guided Maxie in and shut the door behind her.

" Now tell me Maxie, what happened up there?"

"Why did you feel the need to tell Jason about this, Carly, I had it under control!"

" YOU had it under control? You dragged me into this and now Jason is pissed at me.! Spinelli's like family to him Maxie!"

Carly braced her self for the expected quick retort, but instead Maxie turned her back on Carly." I'm leaving now…"

"Wait a minute Maxie, tell me what just happened up there? I know Jason called to get Spinelli out of there and I just saw the two of them leave about 10 minutes ago…Spinelli didn't have the same clothes on…they were dry this time…did they have sex up there Maxie? And where were you during all this?"

" In case you can't tell, Carly, I was under the bed inhaling your dust bunnies while Spinelli was taking a shower in that beotch's room, dressing in her clothes, and asking her out for a date tomorrow night! They decided to save the hot monkey sex for tomorrow night when they're at the penthouse! I think I heard her offer to let Jason listen in ; or maybe even join in if he's up to it!"

"You're in rare form, Maxie! By any chance did you find out anything about Winifred Dawson that might actually help Jason?"

"Let me see… Number one…she wears Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Demi in a 34 D  
Number two…no implants  
Number three…she doesn't sag like you  
Number four…she is an only child whose parents are dead  
Number five…she was a slut in high school and college  
Number six…she thinks Spinelli just hasn't met the right woman yet  
Number seven…she thinks she might just be that woman  
Oh, and Number eight, the real kicker!! Here…"

Maxie handed the badge over to Carly…

"O my God, she's a Fed!"

At that moment , both women heard Jason Morgan's voice at the door…

"Carly, are you in there?"

Chapter 19

Carly Jax got up to let Jason Morgan in the door to her office at the Metrocourt.

"I take it my call got Spinelli out of here?" Jason looked from one woman to the other and couldn't help noticing the similarities. Maxie was dressed in some housekeepers get up and Carly had that "Oops, I did it again" look on her face.

Both Carly and Maxie started talking at the same time! " Look, Jason she came in here all fired up…" But you agreed she was up to something!"

"QUIET you two, I asked you both if Spinelli was out of here! I don't have time to listen to the two of you blame each other for what happened here tonight. I don't see one innocent face in this room! Carly, you go first…"

"When I went upstairs to drag Maxie here out of the room, I found her looking like the little matchgirl staring at herself in the mirror. I had just watched Spinelli and Winifred Dawson leaving together, and Maxie was nowhere to be found. Spinelli was wearing a pair of sweats when he left which I can only assume were Winifred's."

"They were her sweats," Maxie added. " His wet clothes are still up on the bathroom floor from when he took a shower."

"They took a shower together!? ", asked Carly. "You left that little detail out, Maxie!"

"They didn't take a shower together…he took a shower while she stripped down in the room !"

Jason had had it! "I don't care if all three of you were in the shower together! Let's cut to the chase. Where were YOU Maxie while all this was going on?"

Carly giggled, "She was under the bed being the perfect little voyeur. I never took you for the type to just want to watch!"

"For your information, Jason, I was hiding under the bed because I got caught snooping around. And it wasn't just my idea! I didn't get into this ugly housekeeping get up all by myself! And for your information, Jason, you can't tell either one of us what to do! Where the hell were you when Spinelli was getting into all this trouble? You give him these dangerous jobs to do and you know Spinelli would do anything for you!"

" Did you find out anything Maxie?"

"She found out that my sexy hotel guest is a Fed!" Carly handed over the badge to Jason.  
Jason Morgan looked down at the badge, and grunted, "Damn, where's Spinelli?"

"She took him home", answered Maxie.

Jason had one foot out the door with Winifred's badge in his hand, when he felt Maxie pull him back into the room by his arm. If possible, Maxie Jones was even bolder than Carly! She was like a little hellcat where Spinelli was concerned!

"You can't tell him about her now, Jason!", urged Maxie quietly.

It shocked Jason to hear the tone of Maxie's voice. She was veritably pleading with him not to tell Spinelli about the Fed!

" Maxie, I have to protect my interests and Spinelli is under my protection! This woman is a threat that I have to deal with!"

"Jason, Spinelli asked her out on a date tonight and she said yes…matter of fact she sounded like she really wanted to be with him! She talked about what a wonderful man he was; I saw them rolling around in the snow and making out in the park. I can't have him hurt by this. You know what he will think? He'll think that she was just playing him for information! Besides, I couldn't stand it if Spinelli knew I was up there snooping around and heard all the stuff that went on between them…I don't want him to know I was involved. He really seems ready to move on with his life!"

Jason was stunned, but he didn't reveal it. Carly, however, was slack-jawed! She thought for sure that the first thing Maxie would want Jason to do was blow Winifred out of the water. That would secure her place in Spinelli's life and get rid of the threat of Winifred Dawson. Carly thought, Maxie Jones is being selfless…she is putting Spinelli' s feelings before her own. She really is in love with the guy!

"Okay, Carly, give me the master key. I'm going to go up to Winifred Dawson's room and wait for her to come back. I will take care of this from now on...Dear God, Maxie, I can't believe I'm covering for you like I do for Carly!"

Maxie suppressed the urge to ask Jason if he was going to put a contract out on Winnie or take her out himself.

"You two get out of here! Make yourselves scarce. I don't want either one of your names attached to this mess!" growled Jason Morgan

Chapter 20

Damian Spinelli was up in his regrettably pink room, tapping away on his laptop at Casa De Stone Cold. He had removed the Goddess' sweats, thrown on some old jeans and his burgundy striped sweater…the same sweater he had on the day Fair Maximista had told him there would never be any future for them. He turned up the Vivaldi CD he had playing in the background and wondered why Stone Cold was having him tap Mr. Sir's and Vixenella's phone records. He was watching for real time calls the two may have been placing, but it was after ten and he was getting sleepy!

His mind wandered…It was a cold and windy day for Jackal PI…he had been tracking a shady brunette with long legs and even longer eyelashes all day. From under his hat, he watched her walk though the door of his PI office with her red lace bra peeking through her low cut red silk blouse. She was a cool one on the outside, but Jackal PI knew she was a hot one on the inside!

She sauntered into his office and walked to the back of his chair, removed his hat , and threw it on the floor behind her! Jackal PI could feel her soft breasts caressing the top of his head…oh, she knew how to play a man! But he knew there was something evil about this one, and she had a story that would make innocent women and children everywhere shudder…It was up to the Jackal to beat this one at her own game!

He quickly turned his chair around ,catching her off guard. His face was less than an inch away from that cleavage…Jackal PI breathed in the scent of her…He heard her gravelly voice say, " Like what you see, big boy?"

Jackal PI stood up then and looked deeply into her black eyes that were hooded by those hot long lashes .He looked straight down at her ruby red lips and replied, " I like what I see, but you know, I would rather have a little taste"

He grabbed the vixen quickly then , turned her around and pressed her back hard against the desk. He slowly lowered his mouth to her lips and began licking them softly…but never deepening the kiss. When he had her purring with desire, she grabbed his face with both hands and said, " Kiss me hard, you tease!" The Jackal was only too happy to comply!

He could smell her sweet perfume as soon as she entered the room and he broke the kiss quickly with the vixen!It was his fair Maxie and she was taking in the scene in the room!  
She looked shocked and Jackal PI hurried to grab her sweet hand before she ran away.

"How could you do this to me, Jackal? I thought I was the woman of your dreams!"

"You are sweetie, she is just a gun runner for the Russians. She was behind your capture and I was trying to get her to spill her guts! Don't you know your lips are the only lips I will ever truly desire?"  
Spinelli was startled to hear his cell phone ring…the daydream had him caught in its spell!

He was alarmed when he saw Fair Maximista's cell number appear on his phone! It was after 11 o'clock and he had not seen her since leaving the coffee shop!

" Maximista, are you all right? It is I , the Jackal!"

A deep voice on the other end of the phone bellowed out to him,

" Spinelli, this is Coleman! Get your ass down here and collect your woman!"

" My woman…but this is Maximista's phone!"

"Yeah, Spinelli and even as we speak Maxie Jones is passed out cold at my bar…I sure as hell can't call Patrick with that new baby of his or her daddy the police commissioners. Buddy, she's all yours tonight!"

Spinelli jumped up abruptly and headed out of the regrettably pink room without even grabbing his laptop….Maxie needed him!!!

Chapter 21

An hour earlier, Winifred Dawson opened up the door of Room 304 at the Metrocourt. She had just finished dropping off Damian at the penthouse he shared with Jason Morgan. It had been pretty obvious to her that he was committed to his job with Morgan! Winnie was so conflicted! On the one hand, she knew her responsibility to the FBI to take down the Morgan crime syndicate, but on the other hand she just couldn't see herself going through with it if it meant taking down Damian Spinelli! They had a date tomorrow night, and Winifred knew herself well enough to know that she wasn't about to let him take the fall for Morgan without warning him about the sting operation! She was going to give him a chance to get out before all hell broke loose!

Winnie walked into the pitch dark room and walked over to turn the light on at the nightstand. She never quite made it that far, because she tripped right by the bed on what felt like a huge boulder. Winifred Dawson fell flat on her butt!

Then the nightstand light came on, and Winnie looked up to see Jason Morgan himself sitting right in the middle of her bed!!

Jason looked down at Winifred Dawson , held out her FBI badge, and said in as menacing a voice as possible, " You missing something?"

Winnie jumped up as quickly as her legs would let her and tried to run for the door…she was pulled back by a pair of strong hands and whipped around to face him!

" So you know?" Winnie fairly screeched out!

"Did you honestly think that Spinelli wouldn't tell me that he was meeting with you today? Did you really believe he wouldn't have found time to call me to let me know where he had tracked you to? Lady, you've caused me and those I care about a world of trouble!"

Winifred was scared to death…this was one big musclebound man, his eyes were icy blue, and she thought that they looked dead to her! She had no doubt that he could easily snap her neck with one twist!

"If you kill me, they'll know it was you! The Feds assigned me this case to get to you through Damian!"

"They'll have to prove it first, and I've got one hell of a good lawyer! You know, I would have respected you more if you came after me and worked me, but to do it through Spinelli….give me one good reason not to take you out right now!"

"I can't do it to Damian! We have a date tomorrow night, and I was going to tell him about the investigation! I have spent the last month getting to know him online and after I spent time with him today, I realized I just can't go through with hurting him! He's kind and handsome and ….well, let's just say that I tried to be the puppetmaster here, but I ended up being the puppet! I can't believe I let my guard down enough to not realize that he would be providing you with almost minute by minute updates of our activities!"

"The story you will tell the Feds is that Damian Spinelli is working ONLY for me on the legitimate end of my business! I don't care if they want to come after me, but you are going to get Spinelli's name cleared on that end! You got it!"

"I agree only if…"

"Listen Miss Dawson you have no room to bargain here!"

"I will agree to tell the FBI that Damian is only involved in the legitimate side of your business on two conditions… one that you never let him know that we had this conversation and two, that you really cut him loose and help him get real legitimate work!"

"I have to let him know you are a Fed…"

" But you don't have to tell him that you came here tonight and shook me down!"

Jason Morgan was taken aback…this was the second time tonight that a beautiful woman was putting Spinelli's feelings before her own. As much as he hated having to deal with this Winifred Dawson, the more he could see that she truly was into Spinelli!

"I'm going to tell him that we met, that you spilled your guts about being a Fed to me because you cared about him too much to take him down and that I have decided to give him his walking papers out of the syndicate…and YOU have to promise to stay away from Spinelli!"

Winifred Dawson looked Jason straight in the eye…" I can do that, Mr Morgan…it seems like the interest was one-sided on my part anyway! Damian had no problem keeping you up to date on our activities…It was pretty obvious he was playing me all along!"

With that, Jason, turned to leave…"Oh, and I think it would be best if you left Port Charles"

The door to Room 304 at the Metrocourt slammed behind him!

Chapter 22

Coleman looked across the room at Jakes as the door opened…it had already been a hellish fun night and it looked liked things were about to get even more interesting! It was a little after ten o'clock and in walked Carly Jax and Maxie Jones. Carly looked like her usual hot self and little Maxie, well Coleman had never seen that hot little filly lookin so frazzled! Her hair was out of place, she looked like she had just thrown her coat over her clothes and her eyes had a little raccoon action goin. If Coleman didn't know better he would think little Maxie had been crying!

What was wrong with the men in this town? Looking across the bar, Coleman had to admit that there was no way in hell any of these women should be all alone on a snowy night! From his left to his right sat Samantha McCall, Olivia Falconari, and of all damn things, Tracy Quartermaine Spencer! Funny thing was, Tracy had arrived first and had started beltin back shots of Tequila, Olivia came next and ordered her usual Sam Adams, and then came Sam…Captain and Diet.

Tracy was half in the bag and the three of them had started out pretty quiet, but their tongues loosened up as the alcohol kicked in! Coleman figured it could have been worse than it was! Five minutes ago , Claudia Zacchara Corinthos had left with her six pack under her arm. She made some nasty ass comment about how Sonny was good in the sack and Tracy and Sam about had to pull Olivia off her skanky ass! If Carly had been there then, he wasn't sure he could have avoided an all out catfight!

Little Maxie sat down on the stool beside Sam with Carly at the end. They all grunted their "pleasantries" to one another. Carly ordered a shot of Jack and a draft and Maxie ordered a Cuervo shot. Coleman was surprised to hear Carly nix that idea and tell him that Maxie would have a draft and a bag of pretzels. Coleman wondered when the hell Carly had become Maxie's wing man…Maxie didn't bat a raccoon eye when Carly ordered for her either which come to think of it, was mighty damn strange!

Coleman couldn't resist it…he was an agitator at heart...

" So …How did Jake's win the honor of being the site of the " Mob Moll's Alumnae Association? I am so honored that you ladies choose my establishment to hold your first meeting. Going from right to left…Tracy and Luke; Olivia and wannabe Sonny; Sam and …oh this is a good one…Sonny and Jason Morgan. Then he skipped over Maxie. Carly and Sonny and maybe Jason...."Then we have you, Maxie…with the little mobster-in-training, Spinelli!"

They all looked up and him and grimaced, except for Tracy who laughed out loud!

"Well, Coleman, I thought bartenders knew everything! You missed one, but I will try to give you a hint! Okay ladies, who here has not either been in love with, or had sex with Sonny Corinthos?"

The only hand that went up at the bar was Maxie's.

The four of them looked around at one another and then Carly, Sam, Maxie, and Olivia all cried in unison…"TRACY???"

Tracy laughed, "Guilty as charged! I was Sonny's first, back in Bensonhurst! That's why he's never been able to "settle" for any of you!"

Coleman belly-laughed! Yep, this was gonna be one hell of a night!

Chapter 23

Carly couldn't let Tracy get the last word on Sonny! " Tracy, you give yourself too much credit for being the woman who ruined Sonny for all the rest of us! It's all those precious little Madonna-types that Sonny falls for…"

Olivia shot back, "That's rich , Carly, you call CLAUDIA ZACCHARA a Madonna-type??? She was just in here shooting off her mouth about how Sonny was like…the best she ever had in bed!"

Carly bantered back, " He might have been HER best, but she sure as hell wasn't HIS best!"

Sam tried to avoid disaster by answering, No, Carly, that was ME!"

Carly realized that Sam was just trying to cut the tension with a little humor ( she didn't REALLY think that she was Sonny's best, now did she?), and replied, " Any one of us here would be better than that train-wreck business deal he's married to now!"

Maxie mumbled quietly, " She looks like Morticia Adams!"

"Good one, Sweetie!!" Tracy slurred.

" No disrespect to you Olivia, it isn't women like Claudia Zacchara that are the problem…it"s women like your fake sainted cousin, Connie Falconari! Just because Sonny and I had comfort sex ONE time, she has to sleep with Jax! I didn't plan that; it just happened! But women like "sweet Connie" cause enough damage to start a damn mob war! She gets shot one time and Sonny has to go off on his black stallion to rescue her!"

"Just like Liz" replied Sam McCall…Another country heard from. " Lucky keeps running after like a damn puppy dog her ever since Jake got kidnapped! He's scratching at her door all the time even though she started running around town with Patrick's brother Matt like two minutes after she broke Jason's heart! Lucky's still pissed off at me for chasing the Russians and getting stuck in the pit! "

"You think that's bad? Sonny and I had like two minutes together in high school and he thinks he can give my kid advice on how to deal with me…Connie is no better; she's always trying to get Dante to come to Port Charles and now she is warning me off Jason! He's been pretty good to me since I got stabbed by the Russians on the docks!"

Sam, Maxie, and Tracy all looked at Olivia in disbelief…" You got stabbed!" Sam McCall sounded almost jealous!

Carly's mind took a completely different bend, What are you doing sniffing around Jason?'

"You wanna make somethin out of it, Carly?" Olivia said as she jumped up from the barstool!

Tracy reached over and grabbed Olivia's arm, " Let it go, Olivia! I can top all of those stories! How about a husband who marries his catatonic wife while he's still married to you? How would ANY of you like to deal with the legendary LAURA?"

"Who the hell is Laura?", asked Olivia.

They all replied in unison, "You don't want to know!"

After the laughter cleared it got suddenly very quiet in Jakes!  
Little Maxie Jones said quietly, "Well at least none of you have to deal with the Goddess of Cyberspace, Winifred Dawson! I caught her with her hand down Spinelli's pants earlier today!"

Tracy quickly retorted, " Who in the hell names their kid Winifred anyway?"

Chapter 24

"Dead NYU professors that's who" answered Maxie Jones.

"You caught her copping a feel on Spinelli, Maxie?, asked Sam Mc Call.

"Well not officially but I did catch them making out in the park!"

Oh, Oh, thought Coleman, here we go…little Maxie had been pretty quiet other than that jab she got in on Claudia! He was surprised Maxie knew who Morticia was, but the description was spot on.

After that the floodgates opened up!

"She's been hacking into Spinelli's computer files for about a month now…and he was SUPPOSED to help me babysit Emma today, but he backed out on me to meet HER! She's all into computers and Shakespeare and Dungeons and Dragons and Gods of War. Spinelli calls her the "Goddess of Cyberspace"

"I doubt she's any goddess, Maxie! It sounds like she's just some poor lonely computer nerd girl." Olivia put her two cents in.

"Oh, she's a hell of a lot more than that!" answered Carly

"She's a 34 D!" agreed Maxie.

Tracy was floored…" Do I even want to know how you know that, Maxie? I have visions of you holding this woman down by the scruff of her neck and reaching behind her back to undo her bra just to find out what size she is! Tell me I'm wrong!"

"Of course you're wrong, Tracy, I found that out after I rifled through her lingerie drawer at the Metrocourt! Carly set me up with a housekeeper's uniform. And by the way, Carly,what was with those orthopedic shoes?"

"My pleasure. Maxie! I snapped a picture on my cell to send to Kate!"

"This is going nowhere fast, ladies, let Maxie get back to the story. I'm dying to know how Spinelli and this chick hooked up! You sure she's not a lesbian, little Maxie? The last time Spinelli was in here gettin pick-up lessons from me and Patrick he hit on a lesbian!" Coleman admonished.

"I wish!" replied Maxie! "They got into a snowball fight in the park; that's where I caught them making out. Then Spinelli carried her into her room and he took off his clothes and took a shower and she stripped down and put on that white robe they give you in hotels and then she came out and told Spinelli he just hadn't met the right woman yet and then he asked her out!"

"Where were you when all this was going on Maxie?" asked Sam.

"I was under the bed!"

Of course she was under the bed thought Coleman! What a hoot!

"I don't want to talk about it anymore" said Maxie! "It's over between me and Spinelli! He really likes this woman, and…I just can't play the "friend" card anymore!"

"You can't give up, Maxie, you're gonna make us all look bad!" said Tracy.

" Maxie, I saw how that kid looked at you the first time we met in the Crimson office…he's head over heels for you! He even helped you get out that issue of Crimson when Connie was in the hospital…" Olivia added.

"Which Kate took all the credit for…" reminded Carly.

" Let it go, Carly!" Tracy warned! "I saw how Spinelli supported you after Georgie died… you're like Frick and Frack…he's crazy about you!"

"Well, I'm the one he came to when he wanted to work out to "man up" for you!" said Sam. "Spinelli is one of the sweetest guys on earth and he's totally devoted to you!"

"Come on Maxie , they have a point!" Carly replied. " Aside from Jason letting you practically move into the penthouse to nurse Spinelli back to health after his surgery, I thought it was so cute of you both to try to hook me up on a computer date after Jax and I split for about the fiftieth time! I mean, the computer did hook me up with Scott Baldwin but at least you tried!"

"YUCK!!" was Tracy's one word commentary on Scott Baldwin.

Coleman jumped in…"I guess the question, little Maxie, is what do YOU want?"

"I….want Spinelli!" she replied, In a softer tone, she said "I love him more than anything in the world and it's too late for us! I told him over and over again that he was just my very best friend…I didn't know…"

Tracy Quartemaine spoke up and said, "Maxie Jones, don't you ever give up! If you love the guy, sit him down, for God's sake tell him to shut up…muzzle him if you have to…and TELL HIM!!"

"But I have been TELLING him for the last year that all we could be is friends!"

Tracy Quartermaine Spencer had an answer for everything, " SO WHAT, Maxie! Men don't understand a damn thing we do…. That's the beauty of it…we can always change our minds…It's a woman's prerogative!"

Everyone in the Mob Molls Alumnae Association nodded their heads in agreement!!!

Chapter 25

Maxie Jones let Tracy's words sink in …it was her prerogative to change her mind! Why wouldn't she fight for Spinelli if she had to? After all, when had she ever backed down from a fight before?

Carly, Sam, Olivia, Tracy, and Coleman all turned to look at Maxie waiting for her response. They saw an almost immediate change in her demeanor…she sat up straight; the fire was back in her eyes!

Just then they all were taken aback as Maxie Jones veritably jumped off her barstool, ran down to the end of the bar, and planted a huge kiss right on Tracy Quartermaine Spencer's cheek!

"You are all so right! I CAN change my mind!" Maxie reached into her purse and pulled out her compact.

"Oh, my God, I can't go see Spinelli looking like this! Why didn't you tell me I looked like someone who just got trampled at a wedding dress sale at Filene's basement?"

Carly replied, "It's just so YOU, Maxie!"

Maxie Jones tried to wipe the dirt off the side of her face! She wasn't successful in removing the remnants of the dustbunnies from under the bed at the Metrocourt. She looked down at her watch, and said," It's too late to go see Spinelli tonight anyway! I have to go into the bathroom to freshen up, and I guess I'll have one more beer before I leave…" She sounded dejected and all those at the bar noticed some hesitation in her voice.

Maxie headed off to the restroom at Jake's.

Sam looked at Carly, "You know, she's going to back out of telling him…"

"Yeah, I can see it in her eyes, the kid is scared…" answered Olivia.

"You didn't see this Winifred…" said Carly.

"Well, then," replied Tracy…" if Mohammed won't come to the Mountain;…"

"Then let the Mountain come to Mohammed…" , finished Coleman.

Carly handed Coleman the cell phone that Maxie had left sitting right beside her beer on the bar.

Coleman went through little Maxie's address book on her cell phone. He laughed out loud to see the picture of Superman Maxie had Spinelli's number saved under.

"Spinelli…this is Coleman! Get your ass down here and collect your woman!"

Carly, Sam, Olivia, and Tracy all nearly fell off their barstools trying to avoid laughing out loud!

"Yeah, Spinelli, and even as we speak, Maxie Jones is passed out cold at my bar…I sure as hell can't call Patrick with that new baby of his or her daddy the police commissioner. Buddy, she's all yours tonight!"

"Is he coming?" asked Olivia

"Hopefully more than once tonight!" added Tracy.

Chapter 26

Damian Spinelli could feel his heart thudding in his ears as he ran towards Jake's from the penthouse!! How could he have left Maxie today~ He should have known something was wrong …she looked pale at the penthouse and the coffee shop today! He wondered what could have motivated Fair Maximista to drink herself into a stupor at Jakes!

He thought about her heart; the heart that she received from her cousin, "Blessed BJ". He remembered how BJ's mother Bobbie Spencer had broken down and cried when he visited her to ask for a photo of Barbara Jean to attach to her "star" for Maxie's Christmas gift. She had shared with Spinelli the whole story of how her sweet daughter BJ had died so tragically just as his Fair Maximista was about to suffer the same fate at General Hospital. Spinelli would be ever grateful to BJ for giving the last, best gift anyone could give to another human being….her heart!

Spinelli knew that Maxie had to take anti-rejection drugs everyday as a result. So far, God had smiled upon her precious being, but Maxie pushed the boundaries! She worked too hard, didn't eat regular meals, and rarely relaxed. He admitted that for the past year she had added, "Worrying about Spinelli" as one of her weaknesses!

She shouldn't be DRINKING, he thought! Somewhere deep within him, Spinelli attributed Maxie's moment of need that had driven her to drinking at Jakes tonight to him. He had disappointed her today, and then worried her by telling her too much about the investigation into the "Goddess of Cyberspace". He told Maxie too much for her own good, and Spinelli knew at that moment that he needed to do something about it.!

"I promise, God, if you spare Maxie from this danger, I will leave her alone!" he cried as he passed the steps once again where he had found both "Wise Georgie" and Maxie!

Damian Spinelli knew at that moment that he could never love anyone else in his life! He couldn't go on that date with Winifred tomorrow night! There was only one woman in the world for him, and he was TOXIC for her! Ruining her sweet being by placing her in danger…He had done it before…lived a lonely and fruitless life in cyberspace. Damian Spinelli vowed to do it again. As soon as he secured Fair Maximista's well-being, he was packing all his earthly belongings and leaving Port Charles forever!!!

Damian Spinelli burst into Jake's- out of breath- with tears rolling down his face!

Then he saw her…sitting at the bar…she was laughing…she was awake…the world went black around him and all he could see was her! Damian Spinelli's strangled voice broke loudly through all the patrons' conversations at Jakes as he cried..."MAXIE!!!"

Chapter 27

Maxie Jones and the entire crowd at Jake's turned around to look at Damian Spinelli! He was out of breath and visibly distressed!

Maxie jumped up from the barstool and ran over to him. She grabbed him by both arms and said, " Spinelli!! What's wrong? Answer me, dammit!"

Instead of answering her, he grabbed onto Maxie so tightly that she could barely breathe!!

"What's going on Spinelli?" Maxie's mind was going in a million directions trying to figure out why Spinelli had shown up at Jakes, looking like hell, and ...frankly scaring her to death!

"Maxie, I am just so relieved to see you awake and …well, I have to admit that I feared the worst when I got the call from your cell phone!"

"I didn't call you, Spinelli!"

"I received a call from the Trusty Barkeep about fifteen minutes ago stating that you had overimbibed and were incapacitated!"

At that point, Maxie looked over at the bar, and saw five VERY guilty faces staring at the scene going on in front of them!

"That's silly, Spinelli! I'm fine! Coleman was just playing a joke!"

"I'm not laughing Maxie!"

Before Maxie could stop him, Spinelli was headed over to the bar! Maxie hightailed it right behind him as she sure didn't want to see Spinelli going toe to toe with Coleman.

Maxie grasped onto the back of Spinelli's coat…" Spinelli, this was just a joke; I can explain!"

"Coleman, explain yourself!" Spinelli was leaning over the barstool where Maxie had been sitting .

Carly, Sam, Olivia, and Tracy took in the scene in disbelief! Spinelli was about to get his ass bounced out of Jakes!

"Just tryin to help nature take its course!" replied Coleman. This was goin to be interesting, he thought.

Maxie grabbed onto the back of Spinelli's coat and tugged as hard as she could, "Spinelli, I can explain everything if you would just LISTEN!!"

"I am listening to Coleman, here!"

No, Spinelli-speak, this was a shock to everyone at the bar!

He continued, "In case you haven't realized it yet, telling me that you were passed out cold does not constitute as a joke, Maxie!

"If you would give me a chance…" Maxie started.

"We are NOT having this conversation here Maxie!"

"We will have this conversation here if I say so, Spinelli! You're acting like a JERK! Everyone here is your friend, and when you realize what an ass you're being, you'll be back here with your tail between your legs to apologize tomorrow!"

Carly, Sam, Olivia, Tracy, and Coleman were mesmerized by the interplay going on between Spinelli and Maxie! They would have all taken bets that what they were witnessing was their first honest to God lover's quarrel!

"I don't think so Maxie…if you can't see what's right in front of your face then let me spell it out for you! This is entertainment! Let's see how quickly we can get " the Jackal"down here when he thinks his " Fair Maximista" is in trouble! Did they all have their stopwatches out? The fact that YOU think it's a joke too says volumes to me. And don't you worry, Maxie! I won't be back tomorrow, BECAUSE I won't be HERE tomorrow!"

"No, you'll be out chasing Winifred Dawson's ass all over Port Charles!"

"No, Maxie, I'm going to be leaving Port Charles tonight!"

With that little bombshell, Maxie Jones was speechless!

Damian Spinelli bowed to the Mob Moll's Alumnae Association and Coleman and said, " Alright, folks, show's over…time to get back to your drinks!"

With that , Spinelli turned and headed for the door…with one very frightened and pissed off Maxie Jones right behind him!

Chapter 27

Jason Morgan was appalled to see the door to his penthouse wide open when he arrived at home…it had been a hell of a day and now someone had broken into his home! He slowly pulled the gun from his jacket and surreptitiously entered the room…

It sounded like a war was going on in Spinelli's room! Jason could hear what sounded like a struggle happening …things were hitting the walls… he could hear at least two sets of feet pounding on the ceiling above him…Dear God, someone had broken in and was attacking Spinelli!

Jason quickly rushed up the stairs and stood outside the closed door of Spinelli's room…

"Give it to me, Maxie!! I'm not kidding now…"

"If you want it you're going to have to come and get it Spinelli!!"

Oh, my God, thought Jason! Was he ever going to get his house back! He smiled to himself for just a moment and thought about how strange it was going to be once Spinelli moved out! He didn't relish having to cut him loose tomorrow, but he would always make sure that Spinelli had everything he needed. He was the closest thing to family that Jason had now that Sonny and Jake were gone.

Jason stood at the door for an additional moment when he heard more stomping and running around in Spinelli's room. Then if he wasn't mistaken, he heard the bedsprings squeak !

"Give it to me Maxie…you know I can't get by without it!"

Jason Morgan smiled! Spinelli would be fine on his own! Jason headed back down the stairs of the penthouse, headed out and locked the door behind him!

Chapter 28

Damian Spinelli hurriedly opened the door to Casa De Stone Cold and quickly turned to run up the stairs! Maxie Jones was right on his heels, and in her haste to catch up with Spinelli, she left the door to the penthouse wide open! Their trip from Jake's to the penthouse proceeded quickly with both Spinelli and Maxie being driven by adrenaline and high emotion!

"Spinelli!" she yelled, "Let me in that door!"

On the other side of his door Spinelli tried to use his body to bar Maxie's entrance! "Go home, Maxie!" he answered.

Summoning all her strength, Maxie pushed her way into the door of Spinelli's room. He fell backwards from her push, and Maxie took the opportunity to slam the door to the regrettably pink room and lock it from the inside.

While Maxie was locking the door, Spinelli hurried to his closet and pulled out his duffle bag!

"You know that lock isn't going to keep me in here; now go home Maxie and let me pack!"

"You're not going anywhere till you hear me out, Spinelli!"

At that point Spinelli turned his back on Maxie, opened his dresser drawer, and started throwing his clothes into his duffel bag!

Before he knew it Maxie was at his side, pulling his clothes out of the duffel bag as fast as he was putting them in! His clothing was strewn all over his bedroom floor!

Spinelli grabbed his duffel bag and ran to the other side of the room! With Maxie hot on his heels he tried to keep his duffel bag away from her. Maxie grabbed hold of the duffel bag and the two struggled to regain control it!

After a few minutes of back and forth struggle, Spinelli let go of the bag quickly, and Maxie fell back on her ass and the duffel bag went flying across the room and took out the lamp on Spinelli's nightstand!

"Now look what you've done, Maxie!"

"I don't care, Spinelli, you are going to listen to me!"

"I've heard all I want to hear; nothing you could say could change my mind!" Spinelli grabbed the duffel bag off the floor and started to pick up the discarded clothing from the floor, shoving it into the bag once again!

From her vantage point on the bedroom floor, Maxie caught sight of Spinelli's laptop sitting open on his desk…the Jackal screensaver was on! She jumped up quietly, unplugged the powercord, closed the laptop, and headed over to the window of the room…

Spinelli had been so intent on picking up his clothes, he didn't notice her movements.

"Hey, Spinelli, you ready to listen now??"

At that moment, Spinelli turned to see Maxie Jones opening his bedroom window and thrusting his laptop out of it!

"Give it to me, Maxie, I'm not kidding now…" warned Spinelli in the most menacing tone of voice he could muster.

"If you want it you're going to have to come and get it, Spinelli!" answered Maxie! At that point she started shaking the hand she was holding his laptop with out the open window.

Spinelli slowly walked toward Maxie…"Give it to me Maxie…you know I can't get by without it!"

"Oh, okay, Spinelli, you win!" Maxie brought her hand in from the window ,laptop in hand, and closed the window. Spinelli had his hand out to receive his laptop when Maxie pretended to hand it back to him, then quickly headed for his door with the laptop in her hand!

Spinelli grabbed Maxie by the butt with both his hands just as she was trying to unlock his door, but she jumped out of his grasp holding his precious laptop above her head!!

Spinelli chased her madly abound the room until FINALLY, he caught Maxie! They fought madly for control of his laptop! Spinelli lost his footing then and both of them fell onto Spinelli's bed; Damian Spinelli was directly on top of Maxie Jones! Both of her hands were above her head holding onto his laptop for dearlife!

They both remained in that position for what seemed like an eternity…both out of breath… both apparently out of things to say!

Spinelli looked down into Maxie's eyes! He breathed in her scent…his eyes closed and for just a moment he allowed himself to feel the tips of her breasts poking into his chest …allowed himself one last time to remember every peak and valley of her soft body in contrast to his rapidly growing hard one! Reflexively, Spinelli ground his hips into the apex of Maxies beautiful legs.

Maxie felt Spinellli move against her and she answered his thrusts with her own hips. Her hands loosened on the laptop, and she also closed her eyes.

Summoning all his willpower, Damian Spinelli sighed, grabbed his laptop, and started to rise off Maxie's body.

He had underestimated her once again! Maxie Jones felt Damian Spinelli begin to rise from over her body and she used the opportunity to turn the tables on him!

Before he knew it, Maxie Jones had Damian Spinelli on his back! She quickly undid his belt and before he knew what hit him, Maxie was binding his wrists together with the belt and attaching his upstretched arms to his bedpost.

Maxie was smiling then like the cat that swallowed the proverbial canary!  
She sat directly astride him, one leg on either side of his hips , looked directly into his deep green eyes, and said, "Alright, Spinelli, now that I have your attention, you're going to listen to me! You may not be able to get by without your damn laptop, but I can't get by without YOU!!"

Conclusion

Things in Damian Spinelli's regrettably pink room had become rather heated after Maxie Jones had literally attached him to his bedpost with his own belt! Now they were back to square one—Maxie was sitting astride Spinelli looking down at the silly grin on his face!

"Maxie, not that I didn't thoroughly enjoy that little interlude, but you still haven't told me what you meant when you said you "couldn't do without me!" Now let my hands go so that you can explain yourself!" Spinelli knew that he could have easily slipped out of the loosely tied beltstrap but he enjoyed watching her lean over him to set him free.

"We aren't going to have this conversation in bed Spinelli, so get yourself together and let's sit at your desk", replied Maxie. She didn't think she was capable of having a serious conversation about how she really felt about Spinelli if they were lying together in that bed.

While Spinelli ambled off to the bathroom Maxie sat down at the chair at Spinelli's desk. She took a moment to look around the room…clothes everywhere, a broken lamp on the floor, rumpled bedsheets complete with Spinelli's laptop dangling perilously close to the edge of that bed. Maxie silently got up to retrieve Spinelli's laptop, and a wave of nerves attacked her!

True to her nature Maxie had allowed her need and fear to take over with Spinelli a few moments ago in bed. Sex was Maxie's answer everytime she felt threatened or afraid or hurt which she had to admit was a good bit of the time!

As much as she loved Spinelli, she didn't know if she would ever be able to change enough to really make him happy. And if they did end up together how would she be able to assure that nothing bad would happen to him?

Spinelli walked slowly out of the bathroom to where he saw his Fair Maximista sitting quietly at his desk.

"Maxie…" he started.

"Spinelli, I'm scared!" answered Maxie as she put her head down to look at the floor.

Spinelli knelt down beside her and took both of her hands in his, "Maxie, look at me…you don't need to be afraid. There is nothing that you could tell me that would ever change my feelings for you! I know that you believe that you need me as your friend and I know that what happened between us back there in my bed was just a reflection of that need. But Fair Maximista, the Jackal is holding you back…and therefore it is best that I take your leave!"

" Spinelli, please don't stop calling me Maxie! Fair Maximista is your friend always but Maxie… well she is the woman who is in love with you! Spinelli, I love you so much that it scares me! Everyone I have loved either leaves me or dies! I have been walking around in denial for months now; not letting myself see how much you mean to me because deep inside I am afraid I will lose you too!"

Spinelli was floored, Maxie, did you just tell me you loved me?"

"Yes, Spinelli, I did"

He explained, "It is difficult for me to fathom how someone as lovely as you could reciprocate my feelings. You see, the Jackal…I mean… I have had a life which has, in many ways, been devoid of love"

"Do you want to talk about it, Spinelli?"

He thought, I will not destroy this moment for Maxie. There was no way Damian Spinelli was going to bring up the black hole that was his childhood now!

" No, Maxie, not now…." He pulled her to her feet and walked her toward the bed.

"Listen, Maxie…."

"What Spinelli, I don't hear anything…"

"For this moment the world is standing still for me and all I see is you"…he leaned down and placed his lips over hers…"I, Damian Spinelli love you Maxie Jones! Your life and heart are safe with me forever. I'm not going anywhere!"

Damian Spinelli picked Maxie Jones up and laid her down on the comforter of his bed. He looked down at her face and cupped it with his hands...and kissed her.

Maxie Jones noticed that this time his hands were sure- the kiss started sweetly and softly with tongues intertwining and soft moans from both. Then the kisses became bolder and Maxie could feel Spinelli slowly but surely peeling off her blouse and bra.

"Maxie you are so beautiful, "he told her as his hands closed over her breasts…and then she felt him reach between her legs …

Heat and desire took over Maxie and Spinelli then! They gave and took with all the love that was in both their hearts. When they finally could not wait anymore, Damian Spinelli looked deeply into Maxie Jones and said , "Mine…" and the two melded their bodies and souls together!

Maxie spooned more closely toward Spinelli…he was smiling A moment of doubt tugged at Maxie's heart and she said, " Spinelli, where do we go from here? What if I screw this up?"

Spinelli reached over and touched her face and quietly reassured her, "Maxie, I told you once that true beauty is in the imperfections…you know I don't expect you to be perfect! We will take this one day at a time because I also believe that the real adventure in life is not in the destination, but rather in the journey itself! With you at my side I will never worry about the destination, but I will most anticipate the journey every day!"

With that Damian Spinelli drifted off to sleep! Maxie Jones, however was not quite ready to give into sleep just yet…she felt as if something wasn't completely settled. She slowly got out of bed, looked back at Spinelli peacefully sleeping, and walked over to the window…  
The snow that had fallen earlier had left a soft blanket of white on the streets of Port Charles. The sky was velvet black and alight with millions of stars. Maxie Jones looked up to those stars and realized what she hadn't quite settled…In a very soft voice, Maxie Jones looked to the sky and whispered, "To the angels…with perpetual love and gratitude…Maxie Jones!"

Maxie quietly padded back to bed and curled up beside the man she loved!


End file.
